It's a Guy Thing
by quillmetbymoonlight
Summary: When the boys ask for the Ferrari, Castle realises that there's something he should do to make things right. Post "Headhunters".
1. Castle

The case was done and Castle had learned his lesson about straying from his team. Painful things may be after overhearing Beckett's admission of her lack of memory issues, but this writer was a three-detective guy.

Castle sat at his desk, laptop in front of him and glass of wine in his hand. His short-lived affair with the gang detective had yielded a ton of inspiration, mostly of the fight-or-flight variety. Unfortunately, Detective Slaughter had made it quite clear that he didn't want to find a character based on him in any of Castle's books. And Castle was confident that he wouldn't like the consequences.

He sighed and set the wine aside, closing the laptop. Maybe later he would work out a way to use his new experiences so as not to get himself killed by a maniacal, unhinged gang detective.

_Keys!_ He remembered suddenly. _Have to remember to bring the keys to the precinct tomorrow!_

When all was said and done, he didn't mind lending his Ferrari to Ryan or Esposito, and Jenny would surely get a kick out of it. After all, what was the point of having nice things if you couldn't share them with the people that you lo—care about? Okay, so it was a demand instead of him offering, but Castle understood. He had been presumptuous, blithely using his friendship with Ryan and Esposito to get resources to impress Slaughter. They could have asked for more—even refused outright. Maybe they should have refused.

Castle leaned forward, rubbing his face with his hands. Now he knew how lucky, how truly privileged he was. Two friends, two best _partners_, who had his back and trusted theirs to him. He had taken them for granted. And still they had saved him, had come to his side during the almost shoot-out with the Mexican gang. Castle recalled Esposito pulling him back and stepping between him and any potential bullets.

Now the question—if not the answer—became simple. How was he to repay them? Show that he appreciated them and that he was sorry for how he had treated them? He could simply say it to Ryan and it would be accepted, albeit in a sloppy, maudlin scene. Esposito, on the other hand, would tease him mercilessly about being sentimental, and somehow it seemed that would take some of the meaning away.

He sat for a few moments, pulling out the keys to the Ferrari and idly playing with them as he thought. Suddenly, Castle grinned and laughed. He grabbed his phone, the perfect idea in mind.


	2. Esposito

Esposito was finally home. Case closed and he had downtime to catch up on the sundry chores that had been neglected.

Flopping down on the couch, he flipped through the channels until he found a game. With one ear on the game, Esposito started going through the pile of mail that had been building up. Halfway through, he paused, holding an envelope from an insurance company. Not his insurance company, and it didn't appear to be an offer.

His phone pulled out beside him, ready to call the Federal Trade Commission for possible identity theft, Esposito opened the envelope. He read the contents...first in confusion, then stunned disbelief, and finally wry acceptance.

Esposito huffed out a laugh. "You're forgiven, bro," he said to the empty room. His eyes were misty from what had to be dust from opening the envelope.


	3. Ryan

Jenny frowned at the innocent-looking envelope in her hand. "Kev, honey?" She called out, walking into the living room.

"Yeah Jenny?" Ryan walked out from the bedroom and up behind Jenny, wrapping his arms around her.

"Did you change insurance companies without telling me?" She handed him the envelope.

"No. Of course not." Ryan frowned at the envelope. He pulled reluctantly away from his bride and took the envelope. Opening it, he quickly scanned the contents. Blinking hard, he re-read the papers carefully, walking away from Jenny in a daze.

Between the scared look on Castle's face when Slaughter summoned him and the situation he and Esposito had discovered him in at the confrontation with the Vales gang, Ryan worried that they had gone too far in their demands in exchange for their help. But it had hurt _so_ much to see Castle running with that deranged detective. Ryan hadn't truly realised until that moment just how much Castle had become part of their little family.

Jenny bit her lip as her husband walked away. When he stood there, gazing at nothing, she walked up to him. She raised her hand, but hesitated to touch him. "Kev?"

Ryan started, then smiled at her. He held up his arm and she walked into his embrace.

"Is everything all right, Kevin?"

"Yeah, honey. It's going to be." He repeated, "It's going to be," as he dropped a kiss into her hair.

Jenny looked up, confused. Ryan smiled and handed her the papers. She read them; her confusion growing. "Kevin, why are you on Richard Castle's car insurance for his Ferrari?"

Ryan laughed, a bit shakily. "It's a long story."

Jenny pursed her lips in mock annoyance. "Is this a guy thing?"

Ryan laughed again, this time in sincere amusement. "Yeah, I would say this is a guy thing." Just then his phone beeped. Ryan checked the message. "Definitely a guy thing."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Javi got one too?"

"Yup," he answered as he typed back a reply one-handed.

"So if this is a guy thing, then Kate didn't get one?" Jenny asked innocently.

"Uh..." Ryan's eyes flew wide. This didn't technically involve Beckett as it was he and Esposito that Castle asked, and she didn't know about what they demanded as payment. But. . .it was _them_ he had asked, not Beckett, at least until they forced him to go to her. And the weirdness between Castle and Beckett...Could _that_ be why Castle cheated on them with Slaughter? And if Beckett found out that he had put the boys on his insurance and not her...this could be bad. Very bad. "Jenny, let's not mention this to Beckett unless we know for sure if she got one, too. Okay?"

"Okay." Jenny shook her head. Sometimes she didn't know how Kate and Lanie could stand working with men who could be such little boys at times. "I'm going to go start dinner." She moved away, though not without a kiss for her husband, which turned into several by the time they were willing to let go.

After watching Jenny leave for the kitchen, Ryan dialled Esposito. "Hey, Javi. I just had a thought about Castle and that thing with Slaughter. I think it might have something to do with Beckett..."


End file.
